Arena Championship
An Arena Championship is a digital Magic: The Gathering tournament played on MTG Arena, as part of the greater Premier Play system. Arena Championships were introduced in the 2022–23 Pro Tour Season, replacing the Set Championships.[1][2]
Description
Arena Championships mark the pinnacle of competition within MTG Arena. They happen three times per year, just like the new Pro Tour that was introduced in the same year.
Each Championship features 32 top players, determined by four months' worth of competitive ladder and event play on MTG Arena. They compete for a $200,000 prize pool. Each of the three winners and three runners-up of Arena Championships will also earn a seat at the World Championship.
Arena Championship Top 8s are counted as a Top Finish.
Qualifying
There are four monthly Qualifier Weekends feeding each Arena Championship. The Qualifier Weekend itself consists of two days of Best-of-Three matches in a shared format.
Low turnout, stringent elimination criteria and weak advertising resulted in too few players making the effort to qualify directly through Arena throughout the first two years, resulting in more than half the field for each being at-large invitations with five total wins across all four events. Less than 200 players made up the leaderboard each season.
In the March 2024 Qualifier Weekend, the turnout was so low that the last standing player was left at 6 wins; hence, no player qualified from the event itself that cycle. The final invitation list for Arena Championship 6 stretched to the four-winners as only eight seven-winners qualified. Hence, changes were announced for Fall of that year (Arena Championship 7 and onwards). Arena Championships are no longer capped at 32 players, and award Pro Tour invites to the Top 16 finishers at each Championship rather than based on Qualifier results. Progress rewards were also installed for the Qualifier Weekend, letting high-performing players skip ahead in the staggered event.[3]
Awards
There is a $200,000 prize pool which will be awarded to competitors based on their final standing in the tournament.[4]
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1st | $30,000 and World Championship invite |
| 2nd | $20,000 and World Championship invite |
| 3rd-4th | $15,000 |
| 5th-8th | $10,000 |
| 9th-12th | $7,000 |
| 13th-16th | $5,000 |
| 17th-24th | $2,500 |
| 25th-32nd | $1,500 |
References
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (April 21, 2022). "MTG Arena Premier Play in 2022". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2022-04-21.
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (April 21, 2022). "MTG Arena Premier Play in 2022 FAQ". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2022-04-21.
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (March 19, 2024). "MTG Arena Play in 2024". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (December 20, 2022). "Arena Championship 2 Information for Invitees". Magic.gg. Archived from the original on December 20, 2022.